Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Pepper
Exhausted and tearful, Rita almost closed the bathroom door before it stuck on the pink carpet. A slim beam of sunlight filtered onto buckets of algaed water lining the dirty tub. The toilet, its gullet rusty and stained, stared up at her. Pulling money from her pockets, she lowered herself to the edge of the pink tub, and started counting the cash she had found that day in Pepper’s house. Over twenty thousand dollars! Holding fistfuls of cash, she let her tears flow, confused and baffled.
By Gerry Pare'5 years ago in Families
There Is No Such Word As Can't
I was born December 1, 1983 with a disability and vision complications. Growing up I had to have special help because I am a special needs child who is now an adult. At the age of 5 I was adopted and I needed extra help with my learning disability. From Kindergarten up to my fourth grade year, I was told what I could not do instead of what I could do and I was severely bullied to the point where I had to prove to people that I could do some of the things that they could do. That took a lot of courage and my mother sat down with me every night and helped my with assignments and made sure that I understood how to do them. If it had not been for her, I would not be where I am today. With her help and dedication, I have gotten several achievement awards and I was always on the honor roll. During my middle school years, my first year was tough. Not only was I bullied, I had to stand up for myself and many people thought I was a girl who would get smart with others. That year had been my difficult year. By my eighth grade year, I was very successful and I passed all of my classes, which left a lot of people shocked at what I could do and many teachers surprised. When I reached high school, I had the best high school years of my life. Everyone was very nice to me except a few people but that did not stop me from getting my education. I had plenty of support from my teachers and all of the staff and if I needed help, I got the help I needed. When I graduated, I new that I could accomplish anything I wanted and that I could follow my dreams.
By Shari Renae Hicks5 years ago in Families
Treasure in a Dead Man's Chest
In many ways, Jerry Mason preferred his uncle Julian dead. He’d always been a rather odious character while he was alive; his love for his own voice accommodated perfectly by his tendency to throw the most woeful dinner parties at his chintzy mansion in the Sussex countryside. Jerry would often find himself stuck to the man for hours, listening to some anecdote about world politics (or a chastisement regarding Jerry’s financial situation) while trying to distract himself from Julian’s halogenic breath by counting all the different variations of argyle on the upholstery. Yes, he was not much going to miss the man - this was made all the easier to digest by the fact that all he had received at the reading of the wills earlier that week was a smug-looking china piggy bank containing small change from most of the countries that had made up the British Empire. Half of them weren’t even in circulation anymore! A fiscal dig from beyond the grave, from a man who seemed to have a bottomless bank account nonetheless.
By Jimmy Chambers5 years ago in Families
Hometown Vibes
The Gulf Coast will forever be my home. My hometown vibes are full of fun, peace and relaxation. Whenever heading back home from a road trip, those green FL signs on the highway always make me smile. I’ve never been a fan of cold weather, so starting over and moving to FL made total sense. Although it’s not where I actually grew up as a child, it’s where I grew up as a young adult. There’s always something to check out or get into throughout the year. Call me corny but I love being able to tell people, “I live where you vacation.” Ha! Here are a few visuals of my hometown vibes along the Florida Gulf Coast.
By Shante’ Hill5 years ago in Families
F.U.B.A.R.
Hello, I'm April and this is my weekly podcast. As we all know, life is, well fucked up and shit happens to all of us. In order for life to move on and get over my old, tired story I started this podcast to get it over with once and for all. I tell my life story the way I see it. Starting with as far back to birth as I can recall. Which, went very fast as from birth to about 8 or so I don't remember. What I do remember is bits and pieces and feelings. I started life as a regular, loving child. Not knowing right from wrong, up or down, or anything in between. Which as we all know, that's a baby for ya. As life goes on and we grow, we start learning, fear, loss, pain, anger, and well life. This podcast follows me through the years, things I experaneced, and what has brought me to whom I am. It also tells you of the things I've done, done to me, and the results of all those actions. I grew up in Riverside California, in the Wood Streets. That is the very nice older homes close to the really bad section of town. Have you ever noticed that? They will have a well off but not rich, middle-class family housing track. Yet right down a couple of blocks, it's a run down very cheap, really old homes and nothing but homeless and the poor. I sometimes wonder if they offer up these housing tracks to keep the poor away from the super-rich neighborhoods? Well, I'm getting off track now. I was born into a poor family, with a little towards the upper-middle class. My mother fell in love with a cook and had my brother and myself. My mom came from upper-middle class and my dad, poor white trash. As you can guess, mom left dad for her life back. Grandpa worked on top-secret planes for the airforce. I think grandma was a homemaker. Mom and her brother, spoiled brats. The rest I guess is really history. No one talked about what life was like, so I have to guess. Instead of guessing, I write about my past and try to stop blaming my past, for my fucked up shit now. I'm a huge fan of Gary John Bishop, so I want to give him credit where it is due. I want to move on with life, forget and forgive the past and live in my present. No blame or boogie man. Just me and my very fear-driven decisions. Those of which I wish to change from fear to in the moment, present in the present, no blame and no shame, best life I can. This is in no way, shape, or form is easy. I lose sight and start fights. Bring up the past to hurt those who hurt me. Well as we are learning or I’m learning, that will never work! As you will see, hear in my videos that come with this! So I’m this, I am introducing myself and how I live my life and what I do with problems and things that come up. Like I said, growing up in the woods streets of Riverside, California I was kind of in the middle there, I was not rich I wasn’t 100% poor, but I was somewhere in the middle, leaning towards poor! It was my mother my brother and myself living in this house and it was an amazing house! Huge yard in the back, kind of a small yard in the front and older house one of those Sears roebucks, kind of houses but maybe a little later date! When my son was younger not too too young I think about route 65 or six or something like that we lived in A seers roebucks house. Right next-door was a girl I grew up with a Lisa, and we were good friends then, but then she married my uncle and I got really weird! But like I said I mean there was a lot of stories back in the day mostly I’m trying to get the ones out that were more traumatizing, so that I can put them behind me once and for all. I’m doing this is a healing because living in the past is not good for you, and I want to get it all out once and for all and be done with it! Actually I didn’t know I’d have to type the entire episode as well! I’m really rusty so forgive me! But hey this is only the second time, okay maybe the fourth time of resubmitting! Walk this with me and enjoy the show. So without further ado, I give you, F.U.B.A.R.
By April Hoisington5 years ago in Families
